Greta Thyssen
{{Short description|Danish actress (1927–2018)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Greta Thyssen
| image = Greta Thyssen in Three Blondes in His Life (1961).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Thyssen in Three Blondes in His Life (1961)
| birth_name = Grethe Karen Thygesen
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|03|30|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Hareskovby, Denmark
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|01|06|1927|03|30|df=yes}}
| death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
| years_active = 1950–1967
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|model}}
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
- {{marriage|Al Trilla|1952|1953|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Ralph Padula|1953|1955|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|George Ronald Starr|1959|1961|end=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Theodore Roy Guenther|1963|2000|end=died}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/441/Greta+Thyssen/index.html|title=Greta Thyssen - The Private Life and Times of Greta Thyssen. Greta Thyssen Pictures.|website=www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com}}
}}
| children = 1
}}
Greta Thyssen (born Grethe Karen Thygesen;{{cite web|url=https://www.danskefilm.dk/skuespiller.php?id=16639|title=Greta Thyssen|work=Dansk Film Database|access-date=10 January 2018}} 30 March 1927 – 6 January 2018) was a Danish film actress and former model, long-resident in the United States. Born in Hareskovby, Denmark, she appeared in films and television series between 1956 and 1967.
Career
Thyssen arrived in the United States after winning the Miss Denmark crown in 1951. She attempted to follow in the footsteps of the reigning blonde sex symbols Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield by forging a movie career. She was Monroe's double in Bus Stop,{{cite news |url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2010/06/three_stooges_final_leading_la.html |title=Three Stooges' final leading lady, Greta Thyssen |first=Mark |last=Voger |newspaper=The Star-Ledger |date=June 18, 2010}} and appeared in Accused of Murder, Terror Is a Man, Three Blondes in His Life and Journey to the Seventh Planet.
In addition to her appearances on the television series Dragnet and Bachelor Father, she appeared as Roxy Howard, the title character in the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Nervous Accomplice". Thyssen also appeared on Broadway in Pajama Tops as a replacement for June Wilkinson.{{cite book |url={{Google books|VVNpvvU6A0EC|page=234|plainurl=yes}} |title=Screen Sirens Scream!: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Science Fiction, Horror, Film Noir and Mystery Movies, 1930s to 1960s |first1=Paul |last1=Parla |first2=Charles P. |last2=Mitchell |page=234 |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2000 |isbn= 978-0786445875}}
Thyssen is probably best remembered for her appearances in the Three Stooges films Quiz Whizz, Pies and Guys and Sappy Bull Fighters. In her brief stint with the Stooges, she endured a cream pie to the face in the second film. From 1956 to 1958, Thyssen was the original Pirate Girl on the game show Treasure Hunt, assisting host Jan Murray with presenting prizes hidden in miniature treasure chests.{{IMDb name|0862353|section=bio}} After appearing in the musical comedy Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967), she retired from acting.
Legal problem
On October 5, 1953, Thyssen was ordered deported from the U.S. for having violated her visitor's permit in two ways: the permit had expired in March 1953, and despite her status as a visitor, she worked in films and television.{{cite news |title=Miss Denmark Is Ordered Deported |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21786008/greta_thyssen/ |work=Oakland Tribune |agency=Associated Press |date=October 5, 1953 |location=California, Oakland |page=1|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = July 11, 2018}} {{Open access}}
Personal life
Thyssen was married four times. Her fourth marriage was to Theodore Guenther, with whom she had a daughter, Genevieve Juliette Guenther.
On 6 January 2018, Thyssen died of pneumonia at her home in Manhattan, aged 90.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/greta-thyssen-dead-marilyn-monroe-double-three-stooges-star-was-90-1073424 |title=Actress Greta Thyssen, Blonde Bombshell of the 1950s and '60s, Dies at 90 |first=Rhett |last=Bartlett |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 9, 2018 |issn=0018-3660}}{{cite news |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=greta-guenther&pid=187778409 |title=Greta Guenther Obituary |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 9, 2018}}
Filmography
Feature Films
- Bus Stop (1956) Monroe double
- Accused of Murder (1956)
- The Beast of Budapest (1958)
- Catch Me If You Can (1959)
- Shadows (1959)
- Terror Is a Man (1959)
- Three Blondes in His Life (1961)
- Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962)
- The Double-Barrelled Detective Story (1965)
- Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967)
Short Films
- Quiz Whizz (1958)
- Pies and Guys (1958)
- Sappy Bull Fighters (1959)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
{{Portal|Biography|Denmark|Film|Television}}
- {{IMDb name|0862353}}
- {{iobdb name|18724}}
{{ThreeStooges}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thyssen, Greta}}
Category:Actresses from Copenhagen
Category:Danish film actresses
Category:Danish television personalities
Category:Danish emigrants to the United States